"I'm usually homeboys with the same ni--as I’m rhyming' with/But this is hip-hop and them ni--as should know what time it is/And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big K.R.I.T., Wale, Pusha T, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Big Sean, Jay Electron, Tyler, Mac Miller," he raps on the No I.D.-produced track. "I got love for you all, but I’m tryin' murder you ni--as/Tryin' to make sure your core fans never heard of you ni--as/They don’t wanna hear not one more noun or verb from you ni--as."

"What is competition? I'm tryin' to raise the bar high. Who trying to jump and get it?" K. Dot raps.

Lamar's words prompted reaction from the likes of P. Diddy, Mac Miller, Missy Elliott and Big K.R.I.T., among others, but Lamar has stayed silent on the subject until now.

In an interview with Los Angeles radio station Power 106, Lamar says his verse was about "leaving a mark."

"I think it's a case of maybe I should dumb down my lyrics a little bit," Lamar said with a laugh, addressing his self-congratulatory "king of New York" claim. "The irony of that line is that the people who actually understood it and got it were the actual kings of New York, you know, me sitting down with them this past week, and them understanding, it's not actually about being the king of whatever coast, it's about leaving a mark as great as Biggie, as great as Pac."

The "kings" to which Lamar is referring are believed to be Jay Z and Diddy, whom the rapper reportedly met with while in Brooklyn for the MTV Video Music Awards. In a recent interview with New York's Hot 97, Lamar said that those talks were "all love, all respect."